Well after a few months of no return phone calls, texts and emails, I feared Al's health had worsened. So I reached out to his daughter Anne, an artist who pain ted the above picture from a photo I had of Al (with the old pier at Phillips Ave in the background), who told me his phone broke and he was using his wife Evelyn's phone until he got a new one.
It was so nice to hear his voice when he picked up....
Al, now 98, is in better health than Evelyn. They have moved from independent to continuous care, but still maintain a separate 2 bedroom apartment in North Carolina. We talked about family, talked about life, and of course talked about striped bass. He was overjoyed, admittedly selfish, that striped bass fishing along the Jersey Shore has really hit a multi-decade low. It has been four years since they moved, maybe 6 years since he stopped fishing, and has 50+ years of striped bass fishing under his belt. His first bass came after a year of trying, driving down to Spring Lake from I think Highland Park.
He said that was one of the toughest parts in saying good-bye to Jersey, fishing the beach, and in later years taking his tricycle (bike) down a block from his house on Spier Ave in Allenhurst to the boardwalk to just sit and watch, looking for birds, bait, or fishing blowing up.
Al was poignant, talking about how it feels to get old, really old, and the transition from active living, to assisted living, to waiting for the day to stop living. He states he and Evelyn have chosen to begin hospice, and with that, he is happy with the continued and supportive care they receive. He tells a funny story, one of several, like, "We've had more communion in here then the whole time we lived in Allenhurst", which I think was 50 years, and about a visit from the social worker, who asked, "Do you have any goals?". He thought that was an odd question, knowing that he and Evelyn won't be moving out of their current place, but he did state a goal, "I like to sleep a lot, I would love to go to sleep and not wake up, and the same for Evelyn". I hope that goal comes true for both of you bud.
I wished we lived closer to each other, I could use some good Al time. (Boy I used to be fat)